Vehicle manufactures produce a range of vehicle powerplants including internal combustion engines, electric machines powered by fuel cells and/or electrical cells and hybrid vehicles having multiple powerplants. Vehicle manufacturers also produce a range of powertrains that are driven by one or more powerplants.
Powerplants and the powertrains are equipped with control modules that control the vehicle based on an array of inputs. Traditional control is vehicle specific and based on the powerplant and the powertrain configuration. Adapting the control to alternative powerplants and powertrains requires additional vehicle specific modules. As a result, vehicle manufacturers maintain a variety of control modules for a variety of vehicle models, and for the various configurations of the powerplant and the powertrain found in the vehicle.
Moreover, traditional control regulates torque with vehicle-specific feedback loops between a throttle blade, a mass flow sensor and an engine speed. The variety of vehicle-specific control modules and integration of different powerplants and powertrain configurations requires increases in cost and complexity.